Supremacy over Demons

Sermon 33 in Series

Luke 8:26-39

[26] Then they sailed to the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. [27] When Jesus had stepped out on land, there met him a man from the city who had demons. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he had not lived in a house but among the tombs. [28] When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before him and said with a loud voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me.” [29] For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many a time it had seized him. He was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the desert.) [30] Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Legion,” for many demons had entered him. [31] And they begged him not to command them to depart into the abyss. [32] Now a large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, and they begged him to let them enter these. So he gave them permission. [33] Then the demons came out of the man and entered the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and drowned.

[34] When the herdsmen saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country. [35] Then people went out to see what had happened, and they came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. [36] And those who had seen it told them how the demon-possessed man had been healed. [37] Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned. [38] The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, [39] “Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.” And he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city how much Jesus had done for him.

DEEP SHEET: Sermon Study Questions
1.  What themes tie this passage together with the previous narrative? What is your overall impression of Jesus after reading vv. 22-25 and 26-39 back-to-back?
2.  How is this story anticipated in what we’ve seen so far in Luke? How is it unique and even more significant?
3.  What observations can we make from this passage about demonic activity? How does this aid our battle against sin and service to others as we engage in daily spiritual warfare?
4.  What makes this miracle so magnificent? Why should it embolden the Christian as he or she lives out the Christian life?
5.  What are the contrasting requests at the end of the passage? What makes the people’s entreaty so egregious?
6.  How does Jesus’ response to the formerly possessed man demonstrate his grace? How does it anticipate later developments in Acts?

References: Luke 11:14-26 (corporate reading); 2 Timothy 3:15; Luke 5:1-11; Colossians 1:16; Luke 4:33-36, 41; Mark 5:4-5; James 2:19; Matthew 8:29; Mark 5:13; Ephesians 6:10.